The Fellows of Peterhouse announce the election of Adrian Kendal Dixon, M.A., M.D., FRCR, FRCP, FRCS, FMedSci, Fellow of Peterhouse and Professor of Radiology, as 51st known Master from 26 June 2008, in succession to Lord Wilson of Tillyorn.

Professor Dixon will be only the second medical Master in the College's over 700-year history, and the first since 1500. He was born in 1948 in Cambridge, where he is now Professor of Radiology at the University of Cambridge, and Honorary Consultant Radiologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. The son of a long-standing Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, Professor Kendal Dixon, he was educated at Uppingham and King's College, where he read Medicine, graduating in 1969 before undertaking clinical medical studies at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. He then pursued general medicine in Nottingham, before specialising in radiology. After spells in paediatric radiology at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and in computed tomography (CT) at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, he became a Lecturer in the University of Cambridge Department of Radiology in 1979. Since 1994 he has been Professor of Radiology at Cambridge.

Adrian Dixon is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Radiologists (FRCR), of Physicians (FRCP) and of Surgeons (FRCS), and in 1998 was elected a founding Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci), one of very few radiologists to be so recognised. He enjoys a world-wide reputation as a radiologist, with research and clinical interests mainly centred on developing body-computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). He travels extensively to lecture and teach, being awarded honorary Fellowship or Membership of radiological societies in Australia and New Zealand, France, Hungary, Ireland, and Sweden. He has published extensively on CT, MRI, anatomy, diagnostic radiology, and aspects of effectiveness within radiology.

He was Editor, Clinical Radiology, 1998-2002, and was appointed Editor-in-Chief, European Radiology, in 2007. He served a six-year term, 1996-2002, as Clinical Director of Radiology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital NHS Trust, where he has helped to raise over £15 million for numerous state-of-the-art CT and MRI scanners, and continues regular clinical work with patients as an Honorary Consultant. In service to the medical profession, he has been Chairman of the Royal College of Radiologists’ Guidelines Working Party, 1993-98; a member of the Partners' Council of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), 1999-2002; Warden of the Faculty of Clinical Radiology of the Royal College of Radiologists, 2002-06; and Magnetic Resonance Clinical Guardian to the U.K. Department of Health 2004-07. He was recently awarded the President's Medal of the Royal College of Radiologists (2007) and the Barclay Prize by the British Institute of Radiology (2008).

Adrian Dixon was elected a Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1986; there he was Director of Medical Studies until 1994, continuing thereafter to supervise in anatomy. As Master he will succeed Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, formerly Governor of Hong Kong, who retires this summer under the terms of the College's statutes. The senior Fellow of Peterhouse, Professor David Watkin, said: 'After very thorough and wide-ranging consideration, the Fellows of Peterhouse were unanimous in electing Adrian Dixon to be our next Master. We are delighted to elect one of our own, someone who has given immense devotion and service to the College and its members for over twenty years, while at the same time being recognised internationally for his eminence in his field. We all look forward to his guidance and continuing friendship in building on the outstanding Mastership of Lord Wilson.'

Professor Dixon commented: 'The Fellows have bestowed upon me a very great honour, in a College which is very dear to my heart. I look forward to everyone connected with Peterhouse working together to make this College even better, in what I know will be very much a joint effort.'

Adrian Dixon is married to Anne, and has two adult sons and a daughter.

Their home will be the Master's Lodge at Peterhouse. He would like it to be widely known that he has a familial deafness which is largely ameliorated by hearing aids.